You may feel you have good general ability for recalling a variety of things, or you may believe that you’re doomed to forget the name of your Uber driver the second you step out of her car. Either way, it’s important to be sure your conclusions are based on actual science, otherwise your personal experience may simply align with the myths.
1. If you don’t use it, you lose it. If you don’t use that old George Foreman grill stored in the basement do you lose it? No. It’s still there, you’re just not using it.
I teach memory techniques to help anyone remember anything, but unsurprisingly, techniques are only useful when employed regularly. Lack of use is not equal to loss. The “use it or lose it” myth perpetuates the notion that we are just not capable, so why bother, when in fact the issue is not poor memory but simple inattention or failure to practice.
2. Your mind has a limited capacity. If this were actually true then you could never learn a new person’s name without forgetting someone else’s. Everyone can “increase” his or her memory capacity dramatically. In reality though, it’s not increasing anything. It’s simply employing
You may feel you have good general ability for recalling a variety of things, or you may believe that you’re doomed to forget the name of your Uber driver the second you step out of her car. Either way, it’s important to be sure your conclusions are based on actual science, otherwise your personal experience may simply align with the myths.
1. If you don’t use it, you lose it. If you don’t use that old George Foreman grill stored in the basement do you lose it? No. It’s still there, you’re just not using it.
I teach memory techniques to help anyone remember anything, but unsurprisingly, techniques are only useful when employed regularly. Lack of use is not equal to loss. The “use it or lose it” myth perpetuates the notion that we are just not capable, so why bother, when in fact the issue is not poor memory but simple inattention or failure to practice.
2. Your mind has a limited capacity. If this were actually true then you could never learn a new person’s name without forgetting someone else’s. Everyone can “increase” his or her memory capacity dramatically. In reality though, it’s not increasing anything. It’s simply employing
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